Boss ME-50B Bass Effects Pedal

Boss realized that many bass players love their amps and may not need the GT-6B amp/speaker modeling. Also, a lot of bass players love easy-to-access, manual mode effects. So here comes the Boss ME-50B with world-class bass effects in a rugged floor unit with easy pedal-style control.

Effects are divided into six sections (Compressor/Limiter, Master EQ, Filter/Tone, Drive/Synth, Delay/Modulation and Expression Pedal), giving bassists a range of unique and powerful tones including effects like Sound Hold, Octave Up and Kick Drum -- all with easy knob-based control.

The modeled compressors are PERFECT for bass; the defretter really sounds like a fretless. The innovative Sound Hold function sustains a low note while playing over it (cool) and you also have Sound On Sound recording, this time with a Kick Drum effect for keeping time. A handy "Octave Up" effect adds a note one octave above the original while retaining your natural bass sound -- complete with adjustable drive on the octave-shifted note. There are tons of synth-like filtered sounds. This is the piece no bass player should be without.

Multi-Effects Made Simple

BOSS understands that bass players want access to powerful effects, but they don't want to get caught up in the menus and programming hassles of a multi-effects processor. Enter the ME-50B. Just like its guitar-oriented sibling, the ME-50B puts BOSS finest multi-effects for bass into a convenient floor processor with the feel of a compact pedal. Forget about menus and cursor buttons. Just reach down and twist a knob!

Independent COSM Compressor/Limiter and EQ

Everyone knows that the fundamentals of good bass tone are compression and EQ. That's why the ME-50B features two dedicated sections for these essential effects. The ompressor/Limiter uses advanced COSM modeling including a 'Natural' compression setting that retains the nuances of your playing'to give you tight, punchy tone. Simply select the compressor 'Type' and adjust the Sustain/Threshold knob to get the tone you want. The Master section includes a 3-band EQ with a sweepable mid for precise tonal shaping.

Get Creative with Cool Filter/Tone Effects

The ME-50B includes a variety of unique tone-shaping effects just for bass. These include a handy "Octave Up" effect, which adds a note one octave above the original while retaining your natural bass sound, complete with adjustable drive on the octave-shifted note plus favorites like Slow Gear, T-Wah and a Defretter effect for instant fretless sounds. Using the Tone effect preset, you can get quick tonal variations with preset EQs like "Bottom Boost" and "Mid Shape."

Incredibly Warm Overdriven Sounds and More

Want some extra bite? Switch on the ME-50B's Drive effects, which include settings like "Muff Fuzz," "Bass Driver," 'Natural' and 'Metal' to give you a range of overdriven/distorted sounds. A Hi Band effect creates a distorted sound on the high frequencies while keeping the lower frequencies intact, perfect for creating complex tones while keeping your original playing dynamics. There are also four synth bass sounds with superb tracking and natural feel.

Sound On Sound with a Twist

Sound On Sound recording is very popular with guitarists, and now bass players can build their own loops, too. But the ME-50B can do even more. Using the Kick Drum function, players can tap in their own kick drum and create loops over the beat. If that's not enough, check out the Sound Hold function, which lets you endlessly sustain a low note while playing over it. With the ME-50B, bassists can take their playing to a different level.

This review has been selected by our experts as particularly helpful.
"The Boss ME-50B"

Sound:
As soon as I plugged in the pedal, the first words out of my mouth were... "damn". This thing is nice! It gives you alot of tone, that was somthing that I wasn't expecting when I got it. The pedal is built nice. The volume/effects pedal itself has a nice feel to it, lots of control nice up and down movement. The tuner is great.
Feature:
Compressor/Limiter - Lots of control. These are nice but some of them you can't tell the differnce between them.
Distortion/Synth - The Distortions are good, snyth's are kinda lame... but I don't play techno so who cares?
Delay/Modulation - The Delay is kick ass I fun messing with that. Flange is good, Phaser is great, Chorus and Delay = My favorite effect.
Filter/Tone - The Tone pedals defretter, wha, and enhancer are great also. Wha effects on the expresion pedal are nice, the octaves are not worthy to a digitech whammy pedal but close.
Expresion Pedal - The Wah pedal is good, Resonance can give you some really wierd sounds, the Octaves on the expression pedal are great to mess with, soundhold is a good pratice tool, and the Kick drum effect is by far one of the coolest things to use to practice or rub in your drummers face.
Quality:
Built great.
Value:
This is worth every penny. I love this pedal!
Manufacturer Support:
Good support just go to there site and you find any information you need.
The Wow Factor:
Everyone that I have shown it too has had nothing but good things to say, after they caught there breath again.
Overall:
I'll be satisfied for a long time I do believe

Thank you. Your vote has been counted. Could you briefly tell us why the review was or was not helpful?

"BOSS ME-50B is sleek, solid, and sounds great!"

Sound:
EQ, Compresser, Chorus/Delays, Octaver and Tube Drive emulation very good sounding. Less impressive are the synth sounds.
Feature:
Tuner and Volume/Expression pedal are handy. It would be nice if it didn't use a "wall wart", as the thin cord could be damaged onstage. Also would have been nice to include a transport case.
This unit doesn't include the amp modeling features popular in many units on the market these days. That's fine with me, as I don't find amp/speaker modeling useful for my needs.
Quality:
Solid Boss construction we've come to expect.
Manufacturer Support:
Never had a problem with a Boss product, so who knows?
The Wow Factor:
I've been checking out Bass Multi-Effects units and Preamps with built-in effects for a few years now. Either they felt like cheap plastic, or the preamp sections sounded lousy, or the thing would be a nightmare of buried menus.
The Boss ME-50B was impressive enough to take home on trial, then purchase later the same day.
Overall:
I'll be surprised if this unit isn't embraced by bassists in various styles of
music. I don't think that amp modeling is a priority for most bassists, and by leaving out that feature, Boss has created a smaller, simpler multi-effects unit.

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A temporary customer reference number is assigned to each customer only while they are shopping on zZounds.com. If you call our customer service department for assistance, this number makes it easier for us to answer any questions you have about products, services or purchases.

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